Month: September 2014

Well I’m happy to report that Daniel and I have a roof over our heads that we can call our own! (Pause for happy dance!)

We received the keys Friday evening and are now anxiously anticipating the arrival of our things so that we may begin making it our own. The house is very much empty and filled with echoes since it is all tile floors, except our blow up bed/couch. Yup, you read that right, or air mattress doubles as a couch. We don’t know if that shows how redneck we are or innovative, oh well!

I’m excited for our goods to arrive so we can fill our echoing opera hall, but until then we’re enjoying the simplicity and innovativeness we need to make ends meet. You’d be surprised what little things you take for granted. It’s nice to talk, read or what not before bed and enjoy each others’ company instead of going full on zombie in front of the television every night. Unfortunately all of our kitchen goods aren’t here either so we’ve upgraded from take-out to sandwiches and microwavable dinners.

The first night we slept in the house the carbon monoxide alarms started going off around 3:30 a.m. and last night the fire alarm kept going of in single chirps at random in our room, which was very unsettling around 4:00 a.m. We chalked it up to the power outage that evening, but why must everything go off at that hour in the morning?! I then had the mistake of telling Daniel about the devil’s hour, which my horror buff cousins and I thought was common knowledge. Daniel doesn’t do horror and I think I really frightened him! So sorry, I guess those years of horror stuck with me more than I thought!

Also very exciting, Daniel’s truck has arrived! Daniel’s pretty stoked to have her back, and I’m excited to have a vehicle to use when he’s at work during the day!

More and more we’re getting settled in our new home, still so much we learn everyday!

Daniel and I are becoming quite the gypsies of Guam, once again hopping hotel to hotel. It’ll make getting into the house even sweeter, being able to stay put! But we have an address now, and an ever-changing move in date.

One of the colorful bus stops that decorate the streets of the island.

Yesterday we had our world rocked when a 7.1 earthquake rocked the island. Ironically the day before I was checking out the site of a fellow blogger from Guam and reading about an earthquake that had hit them a few months before our arrival. I thought to myself that I hadn’t even considered earthquakes here, mostly only typhoons. About a half an hour later, cue the quake, rocking me on the third story hotel floor. I was confused at first until I realized what was happening, trying to remember what to do. “Get in the bath tub? We don’t have a bath. No wait, that’s tornadoes, right?” Standing in the middle of the hotel room, dumfounded, and then it was all over. Children screaming down the halls and a call from Daniel who was up in Northwest field. He told me it seemed like the Earth was rolling.

It was definitely a crazy experience, a first for us both. Luckily it didn’t trigger a tsunami and all was well. Chalk it up to one of our many new experiences on the island!

Well unfortunately we had to do some hotel hoping and our move in date has been pushed back once again. It’s been quite the process and a quite frustrating, but I’ll leave it at that. At least we know we have the house and will be able to make it our first home in the very near future. The past week has involved a lot of hurry up and wait, and me practicing my weak virtue of patience. A giggle for anyone that knows me well!

Unfortunately for me, Daniel is off leave for house hunting and is back at work today. We did manage to get a lot done in that time and have fun. Including a trip to Inarajan for some beautiful sights and a taste of Chamorro culture right before the sunset, Daniel played photographer. We defiantly would like to visit and explore the area some more when we have more time available. We enjoyed some wonderful treats at the Tea District. Iced milk tea with boba for me was such a pick me up! Daniel enjoyed strawberry cheesecake in a drink for his giant sweet tooth. Very delicious for our search for bedroom furniture, we can’t wait until we get in the house and our stuff finally arrives off the boat.

We also made another trip to G.A.I.N. (Guam Animals in Need), a shelter that has captured my heart and love for animals on the island. Daniel points out a testimony to my passion with the fact that I looked up the shelters and animal groups before we even got to the island and proceeded to seek them out before we were even here a week.

We’re hoping to adopt a puppy once we’re settled; Daniel knows nothing brings a smile to my face quite like animals do. But until we’re settled and can provide a pup with a structured home and time we find ways to help animals in other ways as often as we can.

As much as I’m falling in love with my new home, animals have my heart and I am bothered by what I see here and would like to do as much as I can, even if it’s a small dent. The concept of having a pet here is much different than how I was raised and I feel is unworthy to these souls. With the large amount of strays and animals along the side of the road, seeing them tied up with no water breaks my heart.

I’m not saying that this is the case with every pet owner or animal on the island; it’s just a lot more prevalent and eye opening from anywhere I’ve lived before. But to subside my rant, I know participating to make even the smallest difference is going to be a priority during our time here.

We had a wonderful time this weekend at Onward Waterpark! I haven’t been to a waterpark in I don’t remember how long, maybe since the first Wet N’ Wild for all my Las Vegas natives! But I know that lines were a big part of my past experiences, not at Onward! We went on every slide as many times as we wanted, and just had a wonderful day full of smiles that was warmly welcomed! My favorite slide had to be the Manta! I know we’ll defiantly be making more trips during our time here!

Wishing everyone a wonderful week and hope to be updating you from our house next time!

Thursday was a very busy and productive day for Daniel and I! We woke up early to head to Guam Auto Spot to look at a Guam bomb for our stay on the island. Shortly after arriving our saleswoman set us free out on the lot before showing us the “mechanic special” that we came to see. While browsing the lot, one of the service guys introduced himself as he was running to the lot next door, letting us know he was bringing around a nice car they just got in the night before.

He pulls up in none other than a blacked out Mazda 3. You see, part of the deal with our move to the island is we were only allowed to ship one vehicle, and with the quads it made more sense to ship Daniel’s truck and just sell it when our stay on the island comes to a close. For me this meant selling my 2010 Mazda 3, the first car that was mine, 100 percent picked and paid for, mine. But I knew it had to be done and that I would get a beater to run around in soon.

As he brought out that black Mazda 3, not even stocked in yet, my eyes lit up immediately. Daniel was pretty captured by her too, but we didn’t want our saleswoman to know that just yet. Superstitious me thinks all the heads up pennies I picked up in the lot may have helped a little!

Long story short, we test drove, humored ourselves looking at other vehicles and ended up getting this black 2010 Mazda 3 down to a reasonable price, with all the bells and whistles surpassing that of the one I had to sell back in Las Vegas (not to mention at a cheaper price!).

After pinning down our car, we had to rush off to meet our relator to start the lease paperwork on our home for the next four years. As much as I appreciate the hospitality, Wi-Fi, and cable at the hotel, it lacks a kitchen and I lack the ability to eat out every single meal for over half a month. We’re currently a participant in the waiting game to see how everything unfolds, so fingers crossed!

After that we rushed off for a bite, paperwork on base and then off to Navy Federal Credit Union to finish the process with our car. Finding Navy Federal CU was a wild goose chase, and that’s an understatement. At 4:55 p.m. we called asking them if they would be able to stay open a few moments longer to allow us to open an account and apply for the vehicle loan, which they graciously agreed.

We were told it was on the Navy base, nope. GPS says Santa Rita area, nope. Thirty minutes later we find it nestled behind the museum outside of the Navy base. God bless the ladies that work there who let us in and handled everything for us, you are wonderful!

Word to the wise, GPS does not work on the island. Also, there are little to no street names, if the road is even on a map. We’re quickly learning that everything is based on visual cues and knowing the area.

We went straight from Navy Federal back to Guam Auto Spot to pick up our new car, which I named Night Fury, our very own Toothless. Yes, I’m a nerd. But if you’ve ever seen the smiling, toothless grill of a 2010 Mazda 3, you understand.

Our twelve-hour day was exhausting but rewarding! We were able to return the truck we were borrowing back to its owner. As much as we appreciated the loan, it was nice to have AC and not to be eaten by whatever bug had taken a number out on my legs from the seat that led me to sit hugging my knees on a towel as a makeshift solution to salvage my limbs.

We’re excited to have a nice vehicle to hold onto and take back to the states, even though Daniel jokes that he signed his truck’s death warrant by getting her. On the other hand he also claims he likes her more than me and is positively giddy driving her, making me feel like a permanent co-pilot.

Wednesday we made our way down to Chamorro Village once again with a little more time and free reign to explore. I was just ecstatic to get out of the hotel room to be honest, even if we were just going to Kmart! I usually walk to grab a bite on days that Daniel is at work, therefore he would be taking the truck that we have been borrowing. But today the entire morning and afternoon decided to pour heavily from the heavens leaving me unequipped to venture. So with the clear skies meant exploring!

The first thing we did of course was grab food! Daniel grabbed some of their delicious BBQ pork skewers and I tried a banana lumpia, smiles all around. Next we decided to try the fresh cut coconut. They sliced it in front of us with a single chop, throwing water on us at the same time and handed it our way after plopping two straws inside.

Walking around with our coconut, which became mine because Daniel prefers things on the sweeter side, we explored all Chamorro Village had to offer. Besides the rows of delicious and low priced food, there were other vendors and shops with their contributions to the culture of the island. Among all of these were two men that stood out from the rest, one with a lizard and one with a coconut crab! Let me back up a few months.

Upon learning of our move to Guam my tendency to research things kicked into high gear, which lead me to a picture of a coconut crab, more specifically the picture of a coconut crab as big as a trash can. I had nightmares for weeks! I have a personal, and understandably irrational fear of fish, and this crab had moved its way up the ladder of my horrors!

This crab was relatively little compared to what the images found on the Internet had burned into my mind. Defiantly a notable experience, especially to tell all my friends and family that have heard me rant and rave about this creature that had earned itself a role in my nightmares.

All in all, a wonderful night on the island with delightful food and fun!